Counting device



Feb. 2, 1943. POOLE 2,310,114

COUNTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 10; 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l Irufen'rar.

FedemciA Pan/9 F Feb. 2', 1943.

F., A. POOLE COUNTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 10, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 2, 1943 COUNTING DEVICE Frederick A. Poole, Barrington, 111., assignor to Production Instrument Company. Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application December 10, 1938, Serial No. 244,984

Claims.

This invention'relates to new and improved constructions for a counting apparatus.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a novel arrangement and construction of parts whereby the several parts may be made sufliciently rugged to withstand the relatively rolmh use incident to high speed operation in devices of this character and which at the same time facilitates assembly of the parts in a compact space.

Another object is to provide operating means which are so formed that each arcuate movement imparted to the numeral indicating wheels is substantially greater than the arcuate movement of the operating shaft.

Another object is to provide novel and improved means for locking the units indicating wheel of. the apparatus against movement beyond the arcuate limit prescribed for each intermittent operation thereof.

A further object is to provide novel means for locking the several shafts of the apparatus in their proper position in the frame, the said shaft locking means being held in position by means of a spring which serves also to return the operating mechanism to its normal position.

Various other incidental objects will be readily apparent from the detailed description of the embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a counting device constructed in accordance with this invention, a portion of the housing being broken away to indicate the construction and assembly of one of the parts.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 through the upper portion of the housing to illustrate certain of the elements thereof on a larger scale than shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on line 5--5 of Fig. 2 and showing the various parts of the operating mechanism and the locking mechanism for the units indicating wheel.

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view taken on line 6 -8 of Fig. 5 and showing certain ratchet mechanism of the apparatus in plan.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken approximately on line 1-1 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view corresponding to: Fig. 5, but illustrating the operating parts in the positions assumed at the end of the actuating stroke of the operating lever.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 2 but looking in the direction opposite to that indicated by the arrows, and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line |0--l0 of 5.

The embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings may be briefly described as follows: A plurality of numeral indicating wheels designatedgenerally by the reference character A are revolubly supported in a frame structure B. The several numeral wheels are operatively connected by a connecting means C which comprises a plurality of mutilated pinions suitably mounted on a shaft which ex tends across the frame and is supported in the end portions of the frame. The said pinions cooperate with adjacent numeral wheels to transmit movement from a numeral wheel of lower order to an adjacent wheel of higher order, that is to say, a complete rotation of the numeral wheel of lower order imparts a partial rotation to the adjacent numeral wheel of higher order. The units wheel is given arcuate movements by means of ratchet mechanism D and through gear wheel connections E, the latter being so proportioned that the arcuate movement imparted to the units wheel is substantially greater than the arcuate movement of the ratchet means. A locking means F cooperates with the ratchet means and with a star wheel G to lock the units wheel at the end of each arcuate movement. The several shafts of the counting mechanism, including the shaft for the numeral wheels, the shaft for the said connecting means, and the shaft for the operating means are locked in position by means of a locking plate H. The said plate H is provided with a key-hole slot for each of the said shafts, the narrower portions of the said slots being adapted to fit into annular grooves formed in the end portions of said shafts. Preferably a spring I is employed to return the operating ratchet to its normal position. A mask plate J, arcuate in cross-section and formed with openings for displaying the numerals of the several numeral wheels, overlies said numeral wheels and has a removable interlocking engagement with portions of the frame structure and with the locking plate H. The said mask plate supports a transparent window closure K. A slip-over cover L is formed with a substantially semi-cylindrical window portion adapted to fit over the numeral indicating assembly A and in close relation to the members J and K.

The said numeral indicating assembly A is of known construction. It will be suflicient, therefore, to state that the several numeral wheels designated III, I I, I2, I3 and thereof, are revolubly mounted on a shaft [5, the latter of which is suitably supported in bearing openings formed in the upstanding end walls l6--l'| of the frame structure 18. The numeral wheels .II to ll, inclusive, are of identical construction, each including a gear wheel at one side thereof and a recess IS in the periphery adjacent the other side, as shown best in Fig. '7. The recess portion I! of a numeral wheel of the lower order is arranged adjacent the gear 38 of an adjacent numeral wheel so as to cooperate with the adjacent pinion C on shaft 20. The said pinions are preferably formed with four teeth M of full width and four intervening teeth 22 of half width. All teeth of the mutilated pinions rnesh with the teeth of the gears 18, but the full width teeth are so formed as to normally bear upon the periphery of a numeral wheel. However, when the recess is of a numeral wheel reaches a predetermined position-that is to say, when anumeral wheel makes a complete rotation, a full width tooth enters the recess 98, whereupon the connection between the adjacent numeral wheels is efiected whereby the movement of the numeral wheel of lower order is imparted to the next adjacent wheel of mg er. order. This connected movement, however, is confined to the amplitude of one numeral space on theperiphery of the numeral wheel.

The counting operations are imparted to the unit wheel ill in the form of intermittent partial rotations by means of the mechanism hereinbefore designated generally by the reference letters D and E. The mechanism D comprises a shaft 23 mounted in the frame end walls iG-Ii. Inasmuch as this shaft is subjected to more strain and shocks than the other shafts of the apparatus during high speed operation, it is made of somewhat larger diameter and is mounted in somewhat widerbearings 2|25. The said bearings are formed, preferably, by pressing bushings of suitable length into openings formed in theend walls of the frame. A gear wheel 26 having preferably 24 teeth and having a l2 toothed ratchet wheel 21 fixed thereto is rotatably mounted on the shaft 23 and is held in proper position thereon by means of the spaced arms 28-29 of a yoke member 30. The said yoke is preferably a metal stamping having openings in its arms for receiving the shaft 23 and having portions 3| on the arm 29 adapted to be rigidly attached to'the shaft by means of a suitable pin 33. The arm 29 of the yoke is formed with spaced depending lugs 32 which, in the applied position of the yoke, stand on opposite sides of an uppressed abutment member 32a on the frame so as to limit the arcuate movement of the said yoke and shaft. A pawl 34 is pivotally mounted between the arms of the yoke member and is held in engagement with theratchet wheel 21 by means of a spring 35. Theratchet mechanism may be oscillated within the arcuate limits permitted by the stop lugs 32-32a by means of an actuating lever 36 adjustably fixed to the shaft 23. During the counting operation the said lever is moved from the position shown in Fig. 5 to the the ratio herein shown for the gears 26 and 31,

arcuate movement of 36 may be imparted to the units indicating wheel while the operationof the ratchet mechanism may be maintained within an arcuate space substantially less than'SO degrees.

The forward operating movement of the units wheel is positively limited to the amplitude of one graduation or numeral space on its dial by means of the star wheel G and the pivoted locking member F. The star wheel G is preferably fixed to the gear wheel 37 and thereby has a fixed relation to the units numeral wheel ID. The said locking arm F is pivoted, preferably, on a bushing 33 which is pressed into an opening in the end wall it of the frame structure so as to project inwardly from the inner face of the wall. The said bushing provides the arm F with a wide bearing area and rigid support for withstanding the thrusts and shocks encountered in service. The said bushing 38 also provides a wide bearing for the shaft Ed on which the mutilated pinions are mounted. The upper end of the pivoted lever F is formed with a toothed portion 66 adapted to fit between adjacent teeth of the star wheel G. When all of the parts are in their normal position the arm F is held in the position indicated in Fig. 5 by means of a spring iii so as to prevent any possible reverse movement of the units indicating wheel during a reverse movemerit of the ratchet mechanism from the position indicated in Fig. 8 to the position indicated in Fig. 5. When the counting mechanism. is operated at a relatively slow speed the said spring tit functions to throw the toothed end dd of the lever into locking position, the spring at forces an inclined face of said toothed end dd of the arm F against an inclined surface of a tooth of the star wheel, thereby exerting a cam action on the star Wheel tooth and serving to speed up the movement of the gear wheels 3? and 23 so that these members actually reach the limits of their movements before the completion of the full ratchet movement. However, during high speed operation or when for any other reason the tension of the spring ii would fail to operate in the above manner a cam lug 42 formed on the end of the yoke arm 28 engages an inclined arm 43 of the pivoted arm F when the ratchet mechanlsm approaches the extremity of its forward movement. The said engagement of the cam lug 42 with the arm 43 of the pivoted member F posi tively moves the toothed end 53 of the member F into locking engagement between adjacent teeth of the star wheel G. The ratchet mechanism, that is to say, the lever 36, shaft 23, yoke 30 and ratchet pawl 33 are returned fromthe positions indicated in Fig. 8 to the normal starting posi able fastening. The other end 45 of the said spring is engaged with a hook shaped lug 16 formed on the shaft locking plate H.

The said locking plate His provided with a plurality of key-hole slots designated 41, 48 and 49 adapted to receive the ends of said shafts I5, 20 and 23. The ends of said shafts are formed with grooves 50, 5| and 52, respectively, adapted to receive the reduced portion of the key-hole slots formed in the plate, whereby. the several shafts are firmly locked in position against longitudinal movement in the frame, but can be readily and conveniently released by upward .movement of the said plate H. The spring I is compressed slightly lengthwise of the shaft 23 so as to exert resilient pressure against the locking plate H to hold the plate firmly against the adjacent end wall of the frame structure. The said spring I is also suitably torsioned and the end 45 thereof is seated on the hook shaped lug 46 formed on the plate so as to exert pressure downwardly on the plate and thereby hold it firmly engaged in a slot 53 formed in the base portion of the frame. Whenever it is found desirable to increase the torsion of the spring I, the end 45 thereof may be forced, in a, clockwise direction from its position shown in Fig. 9, into engagement with a hook shaped lug 46a formed on the said plate H at a location spaced upwardly from the lug 46. In the latter position of the end 45 of the spring, when the lug 46a is located as shown in the drawing, the spring does not function to exert a downward force on the plate H,

as previously described, but the lengthwise compression of the spring continues to hold the said plate firmly clamped to the adjacent end wall of the frame so as to prevent displacement'or rattle of the plate during the high speed operation of the counting mechanism.

The mask plate J is arcuate in cross-section and is arranged concentric to the numeral wheels. The opposite ends of the plate J are slit to provide spaced arms 54-55 which seat within corresponding recesses 56-56 formed in the substantially semi-circular portions of the end walls Iii-ll of the frame. The portions of the plate J intervening between the said arms 54-55 are bent downwardly to provide resilient locking tongues 51-58. The tongue 51 is indented to form a protuberance 59 which has a snap lock engagement in a depression 30 formed in the member N of the frame. The tongue 58 is formed with a pressed indentation 5| adapted to snap over a protuberance 62 formed on the inner face of the locking plate H. The transparent strip K is removably fixed to the plate J. This is accomplished, preferably, by slitting the opposite ends of the strip, as indicated at 63-63, to form tabs 64-64 (Figs. 1, 2 and 4), adapted to be inserted in slits 65 formed in the mask plate; the slitted portions of the latter being bent downwardly to provide tab supporting tongues 56-66. The said mask plate is formed with circular openings 61 opposite the numerals displayed by the several numeral wheels. The arrangement of the mask plate concentric with the numeral wheels together with the spaced openings for the numerals conceal all operating mechanism, but emphasize the numerals shown. It will be seen also that the snap lock engagement of the plate J with elements of the frame structure, permits the plate and the transparent strip K to be applied and removed as a unit and also retains these ele ments in their proper positions when the cover L is removed.

The slip-over cover L is formed with a centrally arranged substantially semi-circular arched portion which fits over the mask plate J and transparent closure strip K. An elongated window opening 68 is formed in the arched portion of the said cover. Preferably the said window opening is reinforced by corrugations 59 extending around the edge thereof and serving as a frame surrounding the apertures of the mask units wheel I0 is definitely limited to the ampliplate through which the numerals are revealed. The marginal portions of the cover L are formed with flanges I0 which overlie the marginal portions of the opposite end walls of the frame B. The lower portions H of the said flanges are widened somewhat and are formed with apertures 12 which snap over cam shaped lugs 13 formed on the frame for locking the said cover in its applied position.

The operation of the mechanism may be sum marized briefly as follows: The operating lever 36 is connected or otherwise engaged with machine elements whose operations are being counted. The counting operation moves the lever 36'from the position indicated in Fig. 5 to the position indicated in Fig. 8. This operation imparts an arcuate movement to the yoke member 30 and through the pawl 34 to the ratchet wheel 21 and gear wheel 26. The said arcuate movement is transmitted from the gear wheel 26 to the gear wheel 31 so as to impart a partial rotation to the units wheel Ill. Th gear wheel 26 being somewhat larger in diameter than the gear wheel 31 imparts a greater arcuate movement to the units wheel l0 than is imparted to the ratchet mechanism. The arcuate movement of the ratchet mechanism is limited by the lugs 3232 formed on the yoke and adapted to move into engagement with the opposite side faces of the stop member 32a formed on the base portion of the frame member B. The arcuate movement of the tude of one numeral space on the dial by means of the pivoted member F which is held in looking position with the star wheel G by means of the spring 4|. The desired oscillation of the member F is insured by means of a cam lug 42 engaging an angular portion 43 of the said member F. The said ratched mechanism is returned to its normal position (the position indicated in Fig. 5) by means of the coil spring I which is connected to the shaft 23. When the units wheel I0 is given a complete revolution a wide tooth 2| of the mutilated pinion enters the recess i9 so as to permit the pinion to move the amplitude of two teeth. This movement imparts a one-tenth revolution to the next adjacent numeral wheel of higher order. The several numeral indicating wheels may be reset to zero by rotation of the knob 14 secured to one end of the shaft I5. The cooperating parts of the resetting mechanism are illustrated in Fig. 7, but inasmuch as this mechanism forms no part of the present invention, it is not described in detail herein. The slip-over cover L may be readily and conveniently removed so as to permit the removal of the mask plate J and to permit also the upward movement of the locking plate H when it is desired to release the shafts I5, 20 and 23 from their interlocking engagement with the locking plate H.

While the invention is illustrated in the application in connection with one specific embodiment, it will be apparent to persons familiar with the art, that various changes in construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention, therefore, contemplates all changes in structure which come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a counting apparatus, the combination with a supporting frame and a dial wheel including a gear wheel fixed thereto revolubly supported in the frame; of means for imparting limited forward movements to said dial wheel comprising an operating shaft mounted to oscillate in the frame, a gear wheel revolubly supported on the shaft and meshing with the first mentioned gear wheel, a ratchet wheel fixed to the second mentioned gear wheel, an arm fixed to the shaft and carrying a pawl for engagement with the ratchet wheel, whereby a partial rotation is imparted to said dial wheel during an arcuate movement of the shaft and arm in one direction, and a stop member pivotally supported for engagement with said first mentioned gear wheel and a portion of said oscillating arm.

' 2. In a counting apparatus, the combination with a supporting frame and a dial wheel including a gear wheel fixed thereto'revolubly sup ported in the frame; of means for imparting limited forward movements to said dial wheel comprising an operating shaft mounted to oscillate in the frame, a gear wheel revolubly supported on the shaft and meshing with the first mentioned gear wheel, a ratchet wheel fixed tov the second mentioned gear wheel, an arm fixed to the shaft and carrying a pawl for engagement with the ratchet wheel, whereby a partial rotation is imparted to the dial wheel during an arcuate movement of the shaft and arm in one direction, a

locking position during the reverse arcuate movement of the operating shaft.

4. In a counting apparatus, the combination with a supporting frame having end walls; a shaft mounted in bearing openings in the frame end walls; a movable element on said shaft; and

mechanism for operating said movable element stop member pivotally supported for engagement i with the first mentioned gear wheel and a portion of said oscillating arm, and a spring for holding the pivoted stop in its normal locking engagement with said first mentioned gear wheel during the reverse oscillating movement of said arm.

3. In a counting apparatus, the combination with a supporting frame and a dial wheel including a gear wheel fixed thereto revolubly supported in the frame; of means for imparting limited forward movement to said dial wheel comprising an operating shaft mounted to oscillate in the frame, a gear wheel and a ratchet wheel fixed thereto revolubly supported on the shaft with the last mentioned gear wheel meshing with the first mentioned gear wheel, a U-shaped yoke member embracing the combined gear wheel and ratchet and-fixed to the shaft, a pawl supported between the arms of said yoke for engagement with the ratchet wheel, means formed on one of the arms of the yoke for engaging a stop so as to limit the arcuate movement of the yoke and a cam member formed at the end of the other arm of said yoke, a star toothed wheel having a fixed relation to the dial wheel, a pivoted detent arm formed with an end portion tapered to fit the space between adjacent teeth of the star wheel and formed at the other end with a portion for engagement with the said cam formed on the said including a rock shaft mounted in bearing openings in said end walls and having supported thereon means effective during arcuate movement of the rock shaft in one direction to impart movement to said movable element: of means for locking said shafts in position to prevent lengthwise movement thereof comprising a plate having an interlocking engagement with a portion of the frame and having openings for the shafts,'portions of the edges of said openings being positioned to interlock with annular grooves formed in end portions of said shafts, and a coil spring having one end fixed to the rock shaft .and its other end engaging said plate for returning the said ro'ck shaft to its normal position and for pressing the plate firmly against the adjacent end wall of said frame.

5. In a counting apparatus, the combination with a supporting frame having end walls; a shaft mounted in bearing openings in the frame end walls;' a movable element on said shaft; and mechanism for operating said movable element including a rock shaft mounted in bearing openingsin said end walls and having supported thereon means effective during arcuate movement of the rock shaft in one direction to impart movement to thesaid movable element: of means for locking said shafts in position to prevent lengthwise movement thereof comprising a plate having an interlocking engagement with a portion of the frame and having openings for the shafts, portions of the edges of said openings being positioned to interlock with annular grooves formed in end portions of said shafts, and a coil torsion spring having one end fixed to the rock shaft and its other end engaging and exerting downward pressure on the plate, whereby the said spring functions to return said rock shaft to its normal position and restrains movement of the plate in a direction to release its interlocking engagement with said shafts.

FREDERICK A. POOLE. 

